2-(3,5-di(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)hexafluoro-2-propanol

ABSTRACT

FLUORINE-SUBSTITUTED BENZYL MONOGLYCIDYL ETHERS AND THEIR PRECURSORS HAVE BEEN PREPARED CONTAINING A HEXAFLUOROISOPROPYL GROUP. THESE COMPOUNDS ARE USEFUL AS COUPLING AGENTS FOR BONDING FLUORINATED MONOMERS TO CHEMICALLY ACTIVE SURFACES, AS FLUORINATED SURFACE ACTIVE AGENTS, OR AS VISCOSITY REDUCERS FOR FLUORINATED EPOXY RESINS.

US. 'Cl. 260-618 D 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Fluorine-substituted benzyl monoglycidyl ethers and their precursors have been prepared containing a hexafluoroisopropyl group. These compounds are useful as coupling agents for bonding fluorinated monomers to chemically active surfaces, as fluorinated surface active agents, or as viscosity reducers for fluorinated epoxy resins.

This is a division of Ser. No. 112,826, filed Feb. 4, 1971, now US. Pat. 3,707,483, issued Dec. 26, 1972.

STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention This invention relates to monoglycidyl ethers and, more particularly, to fluorine-substituted benzyl glycidyl ethers and the intermediates therefore.

Description of the Prior Art The use of epoxy resins as adhesives, in moldings, coatings, and as fillers is widely known. However, epoxy resins vary widely in their response to water and some of the strongest epoxies absorb the most water and are thereby most likely to become weakened on exposure to the elements. Future applications of epoxy compounds which are exposed to water are therefore critically dependent upon the ability of such compounds to resist the eflects of weather and water. Among the classes of polymeric materials,those containing large percentages of fluorocarbon in'themolecular structure are perhaps the least affected by'water. Therefore, it would be advantageous to combine fluorocarbon units with glycidyl moieties so as to yield compounds having the unique bonding properties of fluo rine. In copending US. Patent Application Ser. No. 13,172, filed Feb. 20, 1970, now abandoned, the above was accomplished by incorporating fluorocarbon segments into the molecular structures of epoxy resins. The present invention combines fluorine-substituted benzyl units with glycidyl moieties to obtain high fluorinated benzyl glycidyl ethers useful as hydrophobic coatings, coupling agents, and viscosity reducers for fluorinated epoxies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, novel fluorinesubstituted monoglycidyl ethers are formed from aryl 2- United States Patent 3,833,670 Patented Sept. 3, 1974 A hydroxyhexafluoropropyl compounds and epichlorohydrin by the following reaction:

Additionally, novel intermediate aryl hexafluoroisopropyl compounds are provided which are used in the formation of the novel monoglycidyl ethers.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The monoglycidyl ethers of the present invention can be prepared by reacting aryl Z-hydroxyhexafluoropropyl compounds and epichlorohydrin in the presence of a basic solution such as an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide. The intermediate aryl 2-hydroxyhexafluoropropyl compounds are synthesized via Grignard reaction of the aromatic bromide precursor with hexafluoroacetone. Specific embodiments of the intermediate preparation are described 'in the following three examples.

ARYL Z-HYDROXYHEXAFLUOROPROPYL INTERMEDIATES Example I Preparation of 2-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl)hexafluoro- 2-propanol.-Forty-one grams of 3-bromobenzotrifluoride were gently heated for 0.5 hour in a stirred flask with 4.5 g. precleaned magnesium turnings. Twenty-two m1. of hexafluoroacetone were allowed to distill over into the flask at a rate to maintain a gentle reflux. This took about 1.5 hours. After reaction, excess 2 N HCl was used to decompose the magnesium salt that had formed and the reaction product was separated and cleaned with washings of ether and water. it was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate. The solvent was evaporated under reduced pressure and the residue was fractionated through a 6-in. vacuum jacketed Vigreux column.

36 g. of the fraction boiling at 89 C./44 mm. Hg was collected" as a clear, colorless liquid giving an overall yield of 63% based on the starting bromide. The product was alkali-soluble, and the NMR spectrum in carbon tetrachloride displayed signals at 6 8.02 (S, 1, ArH), 7.70 (m, 3, ArH), and 3.40 (s, O--H). The infrared spectrum had a sharp hydroxyl peak at 3600 cm. and

J 3 I 3- J F" a broad pealc between 3500 and 3200- .--Its 'structural formulawas 7 Example II Preparation of 2-[3,5-di(trifluoromethyl)phenyl] hexazfluoro-2-propanol.-This compound was prepared via the Grignard reaction in essentially the same manner as the preceding intermediate, except that a mixture of ether and tetrahydrofuran was required as solvent. Magnesium could not easily be induced to react with 3,5-di(trifluoromethyl)bromobenzene in dry ether alone. A 60-g. (0.205 mole) sample of the bromide gave an overall yield of 54.6 g. (70%) of the desired product. Bp. 85 to 90 C./40 mm. Hg; NMR signals: 6 8.20 (s, 2, AR-H), 8.03 (s, l, AR-H), and 3.79 (s, l, 0-H). The infrared spectrum contained a sharp hydroxyl peak at 3610 cm.- Its structural formula was Example III a FQLOH.

lFz F fluorine-substituted monoglycidyl phenyl ethers.The novel fluorine-substituted monoglycidyl ethers of the present invention are prepared by reacting the above-described intermediateswith epichlorohydrin. They all are prepa'red in essentially the same manner and the following procedure for preparing 2-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl)hexa- 2-propylglycidy1 ether is typical. i

I V I Example IV '2;(3-trifiuoromethylphenyl) hexafluoro 2-propyl glycid al ether.Place 195g. 2-(S-trifluoromethylphenyl) egsaevo l w s 4 4.7 mlat i o a ou hattomflaslg equipped with a reflux condenser. stirrer, and dropping funnel. Into the dropping funnel place a 20% aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide containing 28.0 g. of the alkali. Add one-sixth of the alkali solution at 15 minute intervals or until reflux has substantially subsided. Draw off the aqueous layer and decant the remaining solution from the residual precipitate of sodium chloride. Dilute the solution with 300 ml. ether and wash with water and saturated aqueous sodium chloride solutions. Dry over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filter, and'rem'ove the ether on a rotary evaporator. The resulting solution is vacuum, distilled through a 6-in. Vigreux column and' thie fraction boiling at C./l3 mm. Hg was collected. It vve ig hed g. resulting in 78% yield. This product was redistilledthrough a Nester Faust spinning band column-to yield 151 g. of analytically pure product as described in Table I. Its structural formula is Preparation of 2-[3,5-di(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]hexafluoro-Z-propyl glycidyl ether.The procedureof ,Example IV was followed in reacting-5 4.5 g. (0.144 mole) of 2-[3,5 di(trifluoromethyl)phenyl] hexafluoro-Z-propanol with 55 ml. epichlorohydrin, 82 ml. acetone, and 11 ml. H O. 6.3 g. NaOH in 25 ml. H O were added. in 6 equal portions at 15 minute intervals. Recovery procedure and results were as described in Example IV and Table II. The structural formulawas I Preparation of 2-(pentafluorophenyl)hexafiuoro-2-propyl glycidyl ether.-Seventeen grams of 2-(pentafiuorophenyl)hexafluoro-Z-propanol were placed in .a' 100ml. resin kettle with 40 ml. epichlorohydrin, 60 ml. acetone and 67 ml. H O. The solution was heated to reflux and 2.24 gm. NaOH in 9 ml. H O Were added in 6 equal portions at 15 minute intervals. After the last alkali addition, reflux was continued for one hour. The product was. re-.-, covered in essentially the same manneras Example IV to give a 38% yield of product as described in Tables I and II. The structural formula was Table I sets forth analytical data for the fluorine substituted benzyl inonoglycidyl ethers.

TABLE I Percent E poxy equivalent Carbon Hydrogen Fluorine weight 1 Compound Formula Oalcd. Found Calcd. Found Calcd. Found Calcd. Found Example:

IV CiaHnFaOz 42.40 42.21 2.46 2.54 46.44 46.40 368.2 369. 1 CuHaFuOz 38. 55 38. 56 1.85 1.94 52. 27 436. 2 434. 6 VI CuHrFuOz 36. 94 36. 97 1. 29 l. 28 53. 57 53. 67 390. 2

NMR Spectra Hydrogen 1 RO-CHz-CHCH2 a b c r19 Aromatic H55 b H05 A 3)2-OR AI-CFS AIF Example 7.92 l 3.91 2. Iv 7 68 3; 3 57 2 g }71.6 6 (doublet Of quartets) 9 63. 8

M3 2 3' 53 2% }71.4 (doublet of quartets) 64.0

2. 78 145.9 (2 broad). VI i 51 P 0.9 1,' (para), 172.2 9 (2, m.) (meta).

1 Determined with 1N pyridine hydrochloride in pyridine.

I Pyridine hydrochloride method not applicable due to color formation.

# P.p.m. downfield from tetramethylsilane in G014 solution. 4 P.p.m. uptleld irom 0013]? reference.

'InCCl TABLE II GLO retention time 5 (min) B.P. Surface UCON C./ Refractive tension Viseos- Silicone 50-HB Yield, 10.0 mm. index, Density 2 (dynes/ ity 4 550 2,000

Compound percent Hg) '11. (g./cm cm.) (cs.) column column Example- I Percent conversion irom corresponding hydroxy compound. Determined at 24 C. 8 Determined at 23 C.

4 Determined at 25 C.

5 Determined at one time with fixed instrument settings: 160 0. column temperature and 35 p.s.i.g. He head pressure.

in-situ coupling. Note that the surface tension of the commonly used phenyl glycidyl ether is 42.05 dynes/cm. compared to the lower more desirable values of the fluorinated compounds given in Table II.

The others of the present invention are also useful as viscosity modifiers of fluorinated epoxy resins. Heretofore materials such as phenyl glycidyl ether were used which resulted in a net reduction of fluorine in the resin. With the present fluorinated ethers, no reduction in the weight percentage of fluorine will result when they are added to the fluorinated epoxy resin.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claim the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. 2 [3,5 di(tri fluoromethyl)phenyl] hexafluoro-Z- propanol.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,544,535 12/1970 Gilbert et a1. 260-618 D OTHER REFERENCES Tarrant et al.: J. Org. Chenr, 24, pp. 238 and 239 (1959).

Farah et al.: J. Org. Chem, 30, pp. l0067 (1965).

LEON ZI'I'VER, Primary Examiner D. B. SPRINGER, Assistant Examiner 

